Locking means for lockers and the like



May 26, 1942.

c. A. JOHNSON ET AL LOCKING MEANS FOR LOCKERS AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 7, 1940 iIIlIIIIIlYII vvvv I,

Patented 'May 26, 1942 LOCKING MEANS FOR LOCKERS AND THE LIKE Carl A. Johnson, Celcron, and John A. Greenfield,

Jamestown, N. Y., assignors to Art Metal Construction Company, Jamestown, vN. Y.

Application March'l, 19.140, Serial No.'322,776

'7 Claims.

.This invention relates to lockingmeans for the doors or closures-of lockers and analogous cabinets or devices, and more specifically to improvements in locking means for lockers and the like which have doors for difi'erent compartments and are equipped with locking means whereby the closing of one door acts to lock another door. For instance, the invention is applicable to double or two-person lockers which have two main compartments with a door for each and two hat compartments arranged-one over the other above the main compartments, and are equipped with means whereby the 'closing of the doorof one main compartment operates to lock the door of the companion hat compartment, and the closing of the second main compartment door operates to lock the second hat compartment door;

One object of the invention is to provide'eifective and reliable locking means of simple and inexpensive construction suitable for purposes such as mentioned. 7

Other objects of the invention are to provide, in a locker having doors for main or lower compartments and doors for hat compartments 5 arranged one over the other above the lower compartments, means, operated by theclosing of each main compartment door, 'to lock its companion hat compartment door; also to provide a locking mechanism which consists of the minimum number of parts of simple construction and can be installed with the minimum of labor and expense, for locking one door or element.

by the operation of another door or element.

Further objects and advantagesof the invenembodying the invention, whereby the closing of each lower door operates to look its companion upper door.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, on a larger scale, looking from the rear toward the front of the locker, showing one main door open and the locking mechanism for one upper door in locking position and that for the second upper door in released position.

Fig. 3 is a side, sectional elevation, of one "of the locking mechanisms on'line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are full size, sectional plan views thereof on lines'4-4 and 55respectively, 'Fig. 2.

Fig; dis a perspective view of the actuating spring for the locking rod. I

The locker to which our improved locking mechanism is applied, as'shown inthe drawings, comprises an outer casing lfl of'generally rectangular form which is divided "by a" vertical partition I! and horizontal partitions and ['3 into two main or lower compartments I4 :and 15, arranged side by side, and hator upper compartments l6 and [1, one over the other, above the main compartments. 'The'two main compartments have doors It-and l9 and the two hat compartments have doors '20 a'nd 2| The locker maybe of any usual or suitable construction and the doors I8 and I9 for the main compartments may-be'provided with keyactuated or other locks (not shown) of any suitable construction for separately locking said doors in closed position, the keyholes for the locks being indicated at '22 and 23 in Fig. 1,

.The locker shown, however, is of metal construction haying sheet metal outer and partiright side of the locker. Each of "these doors may be provided withspring hinges 28 of any suitable construction, or other suitable means for self-closing and yieldingly holding the doors closed.

'The locking mechanism for each hat compartment door is arranged to cooperate with the free edge of the door and except as to their location and reversed arrangement, hereinafter "explained, the two locking mechanisms are alike and indicated by like reference characters in the drawings, and the following detailed description of one locking mechanism will sufiice for a proper understanding of the invention.

38 represents a locking rod which is arranged vertically in one of the channel corner posts, in position for a laterally extending arm 3| at its lower end to be engaged by the hinged edge of the main door l8, which is hinged to said post, and a laterally extending arm -32 at its upper end in position for locking relation with the adjacent free edge of the hat compartment door 20. As shown, the lower arm 3| passes through a hole 33 in the inner flange of the post 25 for engagement with the main door, and the upper arm 32 projects through a hole 34 in the inner flange of the post 25 and is adapted to be projected through a notch 35 in the free the main door l8 will move the upper arm 32 J of the rod through its guide hole .34.,in .the- .corner post into engagement with the keeper 35a in the free edge of the hat compartment door 20 and lock the latter. The outward movement of the upper end of the locking rod is limitedby a stationary bracket or stop device 38, which asshown, consists of. a metal plate bent to provide a vertical flange which is affixed, as

by welding, to the inner flange of the corner post, and an opposite flange 39, against which the rod isadapted to strike to limit its outward movement;

Preferably, the locking, rod is normally held able spring 40. The spring may consist, as shown, of a spring wire bent into the .form'of an open, substantially rectangularloop with one end- 4| of the wire bent outwardly and inserted into a transverse hole 42 in the locking rod 30, and the other end 43, of the wire extending across and bearing against the inner side of the locking rod.

The looped portion of the spring is located be- ,tween, the locking rod and the inner flange 26 of the corner post, and is confined forwardly and rearwardly between the front wall and the out- 'turned edge 21 of the inner flange of the corner post. Thus, the spring is held in place simply by the insertion of its end 4| in the hole 42 in *the locking rod.

In the operation of thedevice, when'the main or lower door I8 is swung to close it, its hinged edge 'will engage and push the arm 3| at the lower end of the locking rod outwardly, thus rocking the rod on its fulcrum bracket 36 and throwingits upper arm 32 inwardly so as to en-- gage the keeper 35a in the free edge of the hat compartment doorv 20, which is normally held yieldingly closed by its spring hinges in posi- ;tion for the upper arm 32 of the locking rod to enter the notch 35 and lock the door 20 in closed position. When the main door is opened,

it' will release the lower end of the locking rod and the'spring 40 will retract the upper arm 32 -of the locking rod from the keeper in' the edge of the hat compartment door and permit the latter to be opened. The end 'of the locking arm32'is bevelled at its front side,so that if the main door l8 should happen to be closed before the hat compartment door, the latter, in closing, will, by pressure onsaid bevel face, spring the upper end of the locking, rod out far enough to allow the door to close completely, when the locking arm can spring back into the hole 35 into engagement with the keeper 35a and lock thedoor.

By making the locking rods of a length substantially longer than the height of .the hat compartment door, one looking rod can be arranged, as shown at the right side of Fig. 2, with its lower end projecting far enough below the lower hat compartment for actuating engagement with the main door l9, and its upper end projecting far enough above the lower hat compartment for locking engagement with the door 2| of the upper hat compartment. The two locking rods and the other parts of the locking mechanism therefore canbe made alike, except that they may be made rights and lefts, and installed in place in the locker by arranging one locking rod at the proper height for locking engagement with the lower hat compartment door, and the other locking rod arranged at a higher elevation in proper position for locking engagement of its upper arm 32 with the upper of the two hat compartment doors. With the two locking mecha- :nisms thus, arranged, one main .door controls 1 the locking of the lower hat compartment door in unlocking or door-releasing position, by a suitwhile the other main door controls the locking of the upper hat compartment door.

We claim as our invention:

1. A locker or the like having doors arranged gone aboveanother to swing about vertical hinge .sp'ring means into, its locking position in which it obstructs opening movement of said second 'door, and said rod being resilient and adapted to yield to allow the closing and locking of said second door when the first door is closed and holds the locking rod in looking position.

2. A locker or the like having two lower doors arranged side by side and two upper doors arranged one over the other above said lower doors, a locking rod arranged in position to be moved by one of said lower doors and having a portion which by such movement of the rod is engaged with and locks one of said upper doors, a second rod arranged in position to be moved by the second lower door; and having a portion which by such movement of the rod is engaged with and locksthe second upper door, and means for normally holding saidrods out of locking position, said lower doors being hinged at opposite sides of the locker and the upper doors being hinged to open in opposite directions, and each of said locking rods being arranged to be moved by the hinged edge of the lower door when closing the latter into locking relation with the free edge of the companion upper door.

3. A locker or the like comprising two doors arranged with the free edge of one door adjacent to and extending in a similar direction with the hinged edge of the other door when the doors are closed, and a locking rod arranged lengthwise along said adjacent hinged and free edges of said doors in position to be moved by. the

hinged edge of one door when closing it, said rod having a part which by such movement of the rod is engaged with the free edge of the other door and locks the door, and means which normally hold the rod out of locking position, said rod being shifted against the action of said holding means by the closing of said one door to lock said other door.

4'. A locker or the like comprising two hinged closure elements arranged'with the hinged edge of one substantially alined end to end with a free side edge of the other, a locking rod arranged lengthwise of said edges with one end of the 7 rod positioned to be moved laterally by said hinged edge of one element when closing the element and the opposite end of the rod positioned for locking engagement with said free edge of the other element, said rod being movably supported, and a spring which normally holds the rod out of locking position, said rod being moved by the closing of one element to throw said other end of the rod against the action of said spring into locking engagement with the other ele-' ment.

5. In a locker or the like, the combination of I a door, a post to which the door is hinged, a

second door arranged with one edge thereof adjacent said post when the door is closed, a locking rod extending lengthwise in said post with one end projecting into position to be moved by the closing of the door that is hinged to said post to project the other end of the rod into locking engagement with said second door, a bracket secured in said post in which said rod fulcrums,

andva spring acting between said rod and said post for normally holding the locking end of said rod out of locking position.

16. In a locker or the like, the combination-.ac-

cording to claim5, in which said spring is formed by a looped wire having one end extending into a hole in said locking rod for retaining the spring loop in position between the side of said rod and said post.

7. In a locker or thelike, the combination of a door; a post to which the door is hinged, a second door arranged with one edge thereof adjacent said'post when the'door is closed, a looking rod extending lengthwise in said post with one end projecting laterally through a hole in the side of the post into position to bemoved by CARL A. JOHNSON. JOHN A. GREENFIELD. 

